Kevin McCallister

From The Character Database


Kevin McCallister
HAKid
You can mess with a lot of things, but you can't mess with kids on Christmas
― Kevin

Vital statistics
Names Kevin McCallister, Little Jerk, Kid, Nosy Little Pervert, Trout Sniffer, Peter McCallister, Little Bundle of Misery, Sonny, Kev, Little Sourpuss, Sweetheart, Small child, A Disease, Les incompetes
Gender Male
Race Human
Occupation Student
Origin Home Alone (November 16, 1990)
Alignment Good
Age 8 in Home Alone, 9-10 in Home Alone 2
Created By John Hughes, Chris Columbus
Height 132 cm (4ft 4in)
Weight Not Stated


Kevin McCallister is the central character in the first two movies of the iconic Home Alone franchise (Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York), as well as the fourth installment, though portrayed by a different actor.

In the original film, Kevin, a resourceful and clever young boy, finds himself accidentally left home alone after a series of improbable events prevent him from joining his family on their trip to Paris. While enjoying his newfound independence, Kevin discovers that two bumbling burglars, Harry and Marv, are planning to rob his house. Using his ingenuity, he sets up a series of elaborate and humorous traps to thwart their plans.

The second movie follows a similar premise but takes the action to New York City. After getting separated from his family during a trip to Florida, Kevin finds himself lost in the bustling city. There, he crosses paths with Harry and Marv again, who are plotting to rob a toy store. Kevin lures the pair to his uncle's vacant house, rigging it with an even more complex series of traps, and once again outsmarts the hapless criminals.

Appearance[edit | edit source]

Kevin McCallister is an eight- or nine-year-old boy with a youthful and mischievous appearance. He has light brown hair, often styled in a messy way, and a fair complexion. His wide eyes and expressive face frequently convey a sense of surprise or determination, reflecting his witty and resourceful nature.

In the first two Home Alone films, Kevin is typically seen in casual clothes like sweaters, t-shirts, and jeans. He’s also often seen wearing a red sweater, which has become iconic for his character. His facial expressions often capture his mischievous side, especially when he's setting up traps or executing a plan to outsmart the Wet Bandits.

As he grows older, his appearance matures slightly, but his distinctive, youthful charm remains. Kevin's look continues to be defined by his bold and independent personality, often seen in clothing that balances comfort and practicality with his adventurous spirit.

Personality[edit | edit source]

Kevin McCallister is a mischievous yet kind-hearted boy, characterized by his intelligence, wit, and fiery temperament. As the youngest in his family, he often finds himself the target of teasing and bullying, particularly from his older brother, Buzz, and their cousins. This dynamic, coupled with his mother's tendency to unfairly scold him, fuels Kevin's frustration and contributes to his occasionally hot-tempered and hurtful outbursts, such as claiming he wishes to be rid of his family. However, when he believes his wish has come true, he initially revels in his independence but later deeply regrets his words, revealing his love and appreciation for his family—even his difficult siblings.

Kevin’s resourcefulness and sharp mind are his defining traits. He constructs complex and effective booby traps to outsmart the Wet Bandits (later the Sticky Bandits) and uses clever deception to protect his home. His wisdom and compassion also shine through in moments where he offers heartfelt advice, such as to Marley and the Pigeon Lady, encouraging them to reconnect with others and embrace forgiveness.

In Home Alone 2, Kevin displays more maturity, though his fiery side resurfaces when Buzz humiliates him during a family performance and manipulates their parents into siding against him. Despite his frustrations, Kevin continues to demonstrate his ingenuity and bravery while navigating New York City and foiling the criminals’ plans.

In Home Sweet Home Alone, Kevin is shown as an adult who retains a streak of immaturity. He reportedly enjoys prank-calling his brother Buzz, now a police officer, during Christmas patrols, pretending to be a child left home alone. This playful habit reflects Kevin's enduring mischievous nature.

Biography[edit | edit source]

Home Alone[edit | edit source]

Kevin McCallister, the youngest sibling in his family, grew up in a bustling household in Winnetka, Illinois. Often subjected to teasing and neglect, particularly by his older brother Buzz and extended family members like Uncle Frank and Aunt Leslie, Kevin longed for peace and independence. His frustrations boiled over during a chaotic Christmas season when the family was preparing for a trip to Paris. After a heated argument with Buzz, who had eaten Kevin's cheese pizza, Kevin was sent to sleep in the attic by his mother, Kate. In his anger, Kevin declared that he wished his family would disappear.

The next morning, in the rush to leave for the airport, Kevin was accidentally left behind. A headcount mistake, compounded by a neighbor's child being mistaken for Kevin, resulted in the McCallisters flying to Paris without realizing their youngest was missing. When Kevin awoke to find the house empty, he believed his wish had come true and embraced his newfound freedom. He indulged in activities normally forbidden, such as eating junk food and watching the crime movie Angels with Filthy Souls.

Meanwhile, Harry and Marv, the "Wet Bandits," were burglarizing houses in Kevin's neighborhood and set their sights on his home. Kevin initially scared them off using clever tricks but soon realized they intended to return on Christmas Eve. Determined to protect his house, Kevin devised an intricate series of booby traps.

Before the burglars returned, Kevin visited a Santa Claus impersonator, asking not for gifts but for his family to come back. Later, at a church, he met his reclusive neighbor, Old Man Marley, whom he had feared due to neighborhood rumors. Through their conversation, Kevin learned Marley was estranged from his family. Kevin encouraged him to reconcile with his son, gaining courage and inspiration to face his own challenges.

That night, Kevin successfully lured Harry and Marv into his traps. Though they eventually caught him, Old Man Marley intervened just in time, saving Kevin and ensuring the burglars were arrested. Kevin returned home victorious, but his family had yet to arrive. On Christmas morning, Kevin was delighted when his mother arrived first, apologizing for their argument and absence. Soon after, the rest of the family returned, reuniting them all.

Kevin witnessed Marley reuniting with his son and family, a touching moment that mirrored his own experience. However, the tranquility was short-lived when Buzz discovered the state of his room, leading to Kevin running off in amusement. This marked the end of an unforgettable Christmas adventure, one that highlighted Kevin's resilience, cleverness, and deep love for his family.

Lost in New York[edit | edit source]

One year after his first adventure, Kevin McCallister found himself in another unexpected situation during the Christmas season. This time, the McCallister family planned to travel to Florida for the holidays, a destination Kevin was not excited about because he felt Florida lacked the Christmas spirit. During their preparations, Kevin's father, Peter, accidentally reset the alarm clock while unplugging a charger, leading to yet another chaotic morning departure. Meanwhile, tensions in the McCallister household boiled over during a school Christmas pageant when Buzz humiliated Kevin during his solo performance. In retaliation, Kevin disrupted the event, further straining his relationship with his family. After refusing to apologize, Kevin wished for a vacation of his own, away from them.

The next morning, amidst the rush to get to the airport, Kevin accidentally followed a man wearing a coat similar to his father's and boarded the wrong flight. Instead of joining his family in Florida, he ended up in New York City with his father's bag, containing credit cards and cash. Kevin quickly adapted to his new surroundings, exploring the city and checking into the Plaza Hotel using Peter's credit card. While enjoying his solo adventure, he had a frightful encounter with a homeless woman who cared for pigeons in Central Park.

On Christmas Eve, Kevin toured the city in a limousine and visited Duncan's Toy Chest, where he met the store's charitable owner, Mr. Duncan. Kevin learned that the store's Christmas proceeds were being donated to St. Anne's Children's Hospital and received a gift of two ceramic turtledoves, symbolizing eternal friendship. However, Kevin soon ran into the recently escaped "Sticky Bandits," Harry and Marv, who were planning to rob the toy store. After a tense encounter with the hotel staff regarding the stolen credit card, Kevin fled, only to be captured briefly by Harry and Marv. Kevin overheard their plans to rob the toy store, recorded their conversation, and managed to escape.

Seeking help, Kevin befriended the Pigeon Lady and learned about her struggles and resilience. Inspired by her story, Kevin vowed to help her and prepared for a confrontation with Harry and Marv. He set up a series of elaborate traps in his uncle Rob and aunt Georgette's under-renovation townhouse. That night, Kevin thwarted the toy store robbery by throwing a brick through the window, leaving a note for Mr. Duncan, and leading the Sticky Bandits to the townhouse. The traps worked brilliantly, but Harry and Marv eventually cornered Kevin in Central Park. The Pigeon Lady intervened, pelting the duo with birdseed and attracting a swarm of birds to incapacitate them. Kevin set off fireworks to alert the police, leading to Harry and Marv's re-arrest.

Later, at the World's Largest Christmas Tree, Kevin expressed his regret and wished to see his family again. His mother, Kate, found him there, and the two reconciled. They returned to the hotel, where Kate revealed that the family hadn't enjoyed Christmas in Florida. On Christmas morning, the McCallisters celebrated together at the Plaza Hotel. Kevin reconciled with Buzz, who allowed him to open the first present. Before returning to the hotel, Kevin gifted the second turtledove to the Pigeon Lady in Central Park as a token of their friendship.

The holiday cheer was briefly interrupted when Kevin's father discovered the massive room service bill Kevin had accumulated during his stay. Shouting, "Kevin, you spent $967 on room service?!" Peter chased after him, leaving Kevin once again running off in laughter.

Home Alone 4[edit | edit source]

Kevin's parents' separation is detailed in Home Alone 4: Taking Back the House, though the film introduces continuity issues with the first two installments. After separating from Kate, Kevin's father, Peter, moved in with his new girlfriend, Natalie Kalban, who lived in a luxurious mansion. Tired of being bullied by his older brother Buzz, Kevin decided to spend Christmas with Peter and Natalie.

During his stay, Kevin encountered Marv, now accompanied by his wife, Vera. Left alone in the house with the butler, Prescott, Kevin discovered the thieves attempting to break in. He flooded the house to thwart them but was unable to convince Peter, Natalie, or Prescott of their intrusion, as Marv and Vera escaped before anyone else could see them.

Later, while preparing for a visit from the royals on Christmas Eve, Kevin caught Marv and Vera sneaking into the mansion again. Prescott seemingly obstructed Kevin, leading Kevin to lock Prescott in the refrigerator while continuing to confront the thieves. Using creative tactics, Kevin poured sauce on Marv and Vera, causing them discomfort and forcing them to retreat.

On Christmas Day, Kevin discovered that Natalie's maid, Molly, was the true inside accomplice and revealed her to be Marv's mother. Kevin devised a plan to stop the thieves, causing Marv and Vera to fall from a chandelier and trapping Molly in an elevator. Prescott, who had escaped confinement via a dumbwaiter, knocked out Molly just as she was about to attack Kevin. In the end, Marv, Vera, and Molly were arrested.

Following these events, Peter broke up with Natalie and returned home to Kate and their children. The royal family, whose arrival had been delayed, celebrated Christmas with the reunited McCallister family.

Home Sweet Home Alone[edit | edit source]

A few years later, Kevin enjoyed a peaceful Christmas day alone at the McCallister home, with only his Google Assistant as company. Recalling his previous experiences, he set up similar defenses to his first time home alone. This time, he successfully prevented the Wet Bandits from attempting a break-in by using Google Assistant to lock down the house and simulate a party atmosphere.

After Buzz became a police officer, Kevin began an annual tradition of prank calling him during his patrols on Christmas, pretending to be a child left home alone. Buzz, growing tired of Kevin's antics, referred to him as an "idiot."

In 2021, while on patrol, Buzz received a call from dispatch about a boy named Max Mercer, who was allegedly home alone. Buzz, recognizing that the Mercer home was protected by McCallister Home Security and suspecting it to be a prank call from Kevin, dismissed the call as a hoax, having dealt with Kevin's fake calls in the past.

Powers and Statistics[edit | edit source]

Tier: 10-C, up to 9-B with preparation time

Name: Kevin McCallister

Origin: Home Alone

Gender: Male

Age: 8 years old, 10 years old in Home Alone 2

Classification: Human

Powers and Abilities: Preparation (Very good at making traps, getting away from situations most people would have trouble with, and improvising in case things go wrong) and Social Influencing (Can easily manipulate and trick professionals, and is a very convincing actor). His traps possess Heat Manipulation, Fire Manipulation, Status Effect Inducement, Electricity Manipulation and Explosion Manipulation.

Attack Potency: Below Average Human level (Due to being a young kid, he is not physically impressive), up to Wall level with preparation (Most of his traps are so over the top that if they were done in reality, they would easily kill people by either breaking their spines or necks, crushing their heads or outright destroying their bodies)

Speed: Average Human (Outran Harry and Marv)

Lifting Strength: Below Average

Striking Strength: Below Average Human level

Durability: Below Average Human level (he is an 8 year old in the first film and a 10 year old in the second film)

Stamina: Average

Range: Standard Melee Range, higher with several types of traps

Standard Equipment: Several types of traps and a BB rifle gun

  • BB gun in dog entrance: Kevin hid behind the dog entrance, with the BB gun ready to fire in-case someone got inside
  • Icy stairs: Kevin put cold water on the stairs which froze. This was meant so Harry or Marv would fall on their backs in case they tried to climb them.
  • Hot doorknob: Kevin used a BBQ started on the other side of a door, so when someone tries to open the door, they get a severe burn in their hand.
  • Blowtorch on door: A blowtorch was put right beside a door, which would cause the blowtorch to trigger and burn the head of the person upon opening the door.
  • Falling iron: An iron was put on the second floor and was attached to a rope that was in the basement, which was disguised as the switch of a lightbulb. If someone pulled the rope, the iron would fall on the person's head.
  • Stairs full of tar: Kevin put tar on the stairs of the basement, which would cause trouble to move. He also put a nail in one of those steps, so when it is stepped on, the person in pain would fall down.
  • Sticky wrap + feathers: He put sticky wrap full of glue right at the entrance of a door and a tripwire in front of the door which, when activated, would cause some feathers to be blasted from a fan towards the person who activated the tripwire.
  • Christmas ornaments on window: Kevin put Christmas ornaments near a window so when Harry or Marv tried to climb through the window, they would step on them and get cut.
  • Toy car fall: In case someone tried to run up to the stairs, they would trip on the tiny toy cars placed at the bottom of the stairs and fall on their backs.
  • Paint can to the head: Kevin attached ropes somewhere near the stairs and attached them to some paint cans at the top of the stairs, where he would push the paint cans and slam them on the bandits' faces.
  • Trip wire: Self-explanatory
  • Rope and scissors: Kevin put a rope so he could go to his tree-house, cleverly expecting the bandits to follow him. When the bandits tried to use the rope to get to him, he cut it and caused the rope to swing towards a wall, slamming them into it.

  • Seesaw: Kevin put a seesaw right in front of the store Harry and Marv were robbing in the second movie. Marv walked into one end while Harry was on the other. This sent Harry flying so high into the air that it crushed the roof of a car upon landing.
  • Falling bricks: Kevin threw bricks at Marv from a rooftop.
  • Staple gun: Kevin put a stapler on a door which was connected to the doorknob via a rope. Upon pulling it, the doorknob made the stapler fire staples at such a high speed that they embedded on Marv's skin.
  • Greasy ladder: Kevin put grease on a ladder so whoever tried to use it would fall several feet.
  • 1 story fall: Kevin removed some wooden planks from the entrance of the damaged house, so Marv fell into the basement upon entering the place.
  • Wrenches falling: He put a box full of wrenches above a door so they woul fall on the head of anybody trying open the door.
  • Grease slip + shelf of paint cans: Soap was poured all over the floor of a room, which caused Marv to slip and slide into a shelf full of paint cans. The shelf fell on top of Marv along with the paint cans, temporarily blinding him.
  • Electrified sink: Kevin electrified a sink with 90 amperes.
  • Blowtorch door + Kerosene explosion: Same trap as the blowtorch from the first movie, except it was located in the bathroom; however, Kevin also included a toilet full of kerosene. When Harry tried to turn off the flame on his head by diving into the toilet, he triggered an explosion large enough to blow up part of the toilet.
  • Flour box to the head: A rope was attached to a bag of flour and left hanging in a hole. This was engineered by Kevin so that whoever pulled on the rope would think that it could support their weight and try to climb out of the hole. This backfired when Marv tried it, and the bag of flour came falling down on Marv's head.
  • Fake ladder: Harry tried to climb a ladder that was partially broken. The broken part itself was still strong enough to support Kevin's weight, but not Harry's. This resulted in Harry falling to the ground face first.
  • Swinging Staircase Pipe: This trap starts off the same as the Paint Can trap from the first film, which Harry and Marv correctly identified and avoided. However, Kevin also tied a pipe to the ceiling and made it crash into the burglars' faces, then clipped the ropes attached to the pipe.It tumbles down onto their bodies.
  • Kerosene Soaked Rope: Kevin led the crooks to a rope attached to the roof of the building the traps were located in, enticing them to climb down and chase him. Unknown to Harry and Marv, the rope had been doused with kerosene. When Marv and Harry tried to climb down the rope, it was lit on fire and they fell 2 stories, flipping some loose planks and causing several paint and oil cans to hit them in the face

Intelligence: Gifted (Despite being a young child, Kevin is highly knowledgeable in setting up many different complex traps to foil criminals, most of which would require a lot of knowledge in physics, as well as a ton of planning, to fully work. He is very clever and resourceful with using his environment to his advantage, and is also a convincing actor, being capable of outsmarting professionals)

Weaknesses: Standard human weaknesses

Trivia[edit | edit source]

  • Kevin is a fan of cheese pizza.
  • In the scripts, he is 7 years old, but in the first movie, he is portrayed as 8. In the second film, he claims to be 10, though he may actually be 9, as the events of the second movie take place just one year after the first.

Theme[edit | edit source]